Page 168 - Just Promoted A 12 Month Road Map for Success in Your New Leadership Role

The Diagnostic Process 153

edge and viewpoints. At the same time, it builds interest in the organizational
improvement process and increases its visibility. As a rule, when management
and employees participate in the process, they develop ownership for both the
process and the outcome. The broader the participation, the greater the sense
that people have been included, that they have gained recognition and status,
and that their concerns were heard.
Some will serve on the steering committee. There are roles for others on
one of the task forces, which usually have from three to six members each.
Others will be interviewed by task force members as sources of information
that can help the effort.
As with the steering committee, smaller task forces may collect data more
quickly and possibly develop a consensus more efficiently. Larger groups, on
the other hand, will be more representative and tend to have a greater rich-
ness of ideas.
Each task force should include a member of the steering committee. Steer-
ing committee members may volunteer to head particular task forces, even
though the task force leader should be chosen by you and the steering com-
mittee chair. Select a leader who knows the task or function. Also consider a
person’s interest in the area. A senior leader will be most familiar with broader
issues of mission, policies, goals, and objectives. His or her ideal task force mem-
bers might be predominantly upper-level and midlevel management people who
are familiar with looking at the organization from a broad, wide-angle view.
On the other hand, task forces that look at work flow and workforce issues
should include people at an operational level: midlevel and first-line supervi-
sors and experienced employees, who are more familiar with the day-to-day
operations.
In general, the most experienced people will make the strongest contribu-
tion to task forces. They know the culture, history, how things got that way,
intervening factors, and the solutions. More importantly, they know how to
get answers, and they have the organizational resources to defend and imple-
ment solutions. On the other hand, a bright, less experienced person may add
much because of his or her initiative and fresh perspective. A word of caution,
however: overly frank newcomers, whose advice and observations are not
always welcome by veterans, can get in trouble by being too direct. Participa-
tion on task forces can be a career maker or breaker for young people, depend-
ing on how they handle themselves. A little advance coaching can save young
people from a lot of trouble.